About Files and File Images

On the Producer Portal, you can add and manage the files you want to make available for your customers to download. You can add a file and then upload a file image. Adding a file is little more than creating a placeholder for the actual file and specifying a file description and file ID. Uploading the file image copies the actual file from your local system into FlexNet Operations. Without the file image upload, the file in FlexNet Operations has no payload when a customer or channel partner tries to download it from the End-User Portal. For instructions, see Adding Files and Uploading a File Image.

This section provides a brief overview of file management concepts and options and provides additional information on the upload manager and other file upload methods as well as a discussion of supported file hosting options.

Download File Management Overview

The creation of a download file adheres, at least, to the following sequence:

Add the file—Create a placeholder for the file image in FlexNet Operations and give the file, at minimum, a file ID. Other file details are optional at this point.

Upload the file image—Copy the actual file bits into FlexNet Operations. The file bits are what gets delivered to End-User Portal users when they download the file.

Associate the file with one or more download packages—Download packages collect one or more files and tie them to a product. Without any association to a download package, the file will never appear for download on the End-User Portal.

Once a file has been added and associated with a download package, it is available for End-User Portal users to download from any product to which the download package is associated and to which the End-User Portal user is entitled. No further actions are necessary; however, there are a number of options in the Producer Portal for editing a file’s details, changing its associations, restricting access to it, and sending email notifications to users who are entitled to the products that include it.

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Editing file information and reidentifying a file—Most file details can be edited on the Edit File page, but to change a file’s ID, you must reidentify the file. (See Editing a File and Reidentifying a File, for instructions.)

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Aliasing a file creates a duplicate of an existing file that points to the same file image but can be managed separately. File aliases allow you to avoid uploading multiple copies of the same file image. (See About Aliases and Aliasing a File.)

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Restricting access to a file—controls whether a file is shown to specified customers in the End-User Portal. (See About File Restrictions and Restricting a File.)

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Sending a notification email for users who have access to the file—Initiate an email message to all End-User Portal users who have access to the file. (See Creating an Email Notification for a File.)

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Adding and removing download package associations—Reuse the file in other download packages by making additional associations or disassociate the file from a currently associated download package. (See Managing File Associations.)

These file management activities are covered in greater detail in this section. Likewise, instructions are presented in this section for researching a file’s associations and restrictions as well as its transaction and download history. See Viewing File Information for instructions.

Anonymous File Download

You can also make files available for users to download without requiring users to log in to the End-User Portal. This enables you as the producer to post a link to a file on your own website, or you can send a URL in an email to your end-users. Typically you would use the anonymous file download for informational files, but not actual software files.

The following instructions describe the sequence for creating an anonymous download. The result is a URL that you can make available to customers. Customers who click on this URL can download the associated file without providing credentials. Note that these instructions assume that you already created a download package and associated it with a file (containing a file image) for the anonymous download.

To make a file available for anonymous download:

Create a custom attribute called ANONYMOUS_ALLOWED. This involves the following steps:

Click Administer > Custom Attributes. The Custom Attributes page opens.

On the Custom Attributes page, click Add Attribute.

On the Create Custom Attribute page, specify the following custom attribute settings:

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Name: ANONYMOUS_ALLOWED (in capital letters)

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Entity type: File

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Status: Active

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Type: Text

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Text type: Single select. Add the valid values TRUE and FALSE.

For more information about custom attribute settings, see Custom Attribute Settings.

Click Save to save the custom attribute.

Assign the ANONYMOUS_ALLOWED custom attribute that you created to the file that you want to make available to your customers.

For information about adding attributes to a file, see Editing a File.

Open the View Download Package page and make note of the export compliance values assigned to the download package. This information is required to build the URL.

For more information, see Viewing Download Package Information.

Build the download URL. The format of the URL depends on whether export controls apply to the file, and whether you use the system file ID or file ID to identify the file.

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When no export controls apply, use either of the following formats:

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https://<siteID>-esd.flexnetoperations.com/flexnet/operations/AnonymousDownload?systemFileID=<systemFileID>

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https://<siteID>-esd.flexnetoperations.com/flexnet/operations/AnonymousDownload?fileID=<fileID>

Replace <siteID> with your organization’s DNS name or the specific site ID supplied by Revenera, <systemFileID> with the system file ID, and <fileID> with the file ID. You find the system file ID and file ID on the View File page. For more information about the site ID, see FlexNet Operations Environments.

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When export controls apply, use either of the following formats:

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https://<siteID>-esd.flexnetoperations.com/flexnet/operations/AnonymousDownload?fileID=<fileID>&eccnNum=<ECCNcode>&leEnc=<ENCcode>&ccats=<CCATScode>&nlr=<T/F>

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https://<siteID>-esd.flexnetoperations.com/flexnet/operations/AnonymousDownload?systemFileID=<systemFileID>&eccnNum=<ECCNcode>&leEnc=<ENCcode>&ccats=<CCATScode>&nlr=<T/F>

Replace <ECCNcode>, <ENCcode>, and <CCATScode> with the relevant export compliance codes. Replace <T/F> with the value selected for Restrict to US/CANADA (NLR). You obtain these values from the View Download Package page for the download package that is associated with the file that you want to make available.

Use the URL to make the file available to your customers.

About Enabling Channel Partners to Download Files

A producer can enable a channel partner to download files, on behalf of end users, for product demonstration and support purposes.

After the product is deployed and associated with a download package, the producer creates the channel partner user, creates an entitlement line item for the product for the channel partner user’s account, and assigns an end customer user account to the entitlement.

Important:This option is limited to entitlements with end customer and channel partner user accounts. It does not work for entitlements with only channel partner users.

The channel partner user logs in to the FlexNet Operations End-User Portal with the line item’s activation ID, navigates to the List Entitlements page, and locates the entitlement in the table. From there, the file can be downloaded using the standard download procedure.

About File Localization

Some aspects of a file can be localized: File Description, Extended Description, and Content Detail. To show the locale-specific fields for a localizable attribute, click Show Languages.